Silent Storms
by Blizzardrunner
Summary: A simple collection of the various challenges and one-shots I have completed. Current chapter: Breaking Point. "A single twisted leg, a single friend, a single chance at life, yet a Clan of tormentors."
1. The Wish of One

**Challenge Name: Flight of Snow**

**Forum: The Clan of Clouds**

**Total Word Count: 297 words.**

_**Snowkit's death, though it brought much grief to the cats of the Clan, was more than it seemed to the deaf tom. His final thoughts were not of terror, nor grief, but a sense of fulfillment in his one wish of this world.**_

* * *

Ever since I'd opened these eyes of mine, one thing had always been quite intriguing.

The flutter of the birds high above, the way they would glide ever so elegantly on smooth winds.

I wished that one day, I could do the same.

To soar on the warm breeze, among clouds as white as my fur.

Little did I know, the day would come far too soon.

My screeches of pain unheard by these ears, which might as well be gone.

I was doomed by fate to never understand the world around me.

Yet, it might as well have been a blessing.

The silence was calming, a haven of its own.

My own private world, untouched by others.

However, what I had grown to love would be my demise.

They tried, oh how they would, to just get me to hear.

The tom and she-cat, I remember the sadness that they held.

If only I could tell them that I was perfectly happy.

Sweet mother, oh how she wanted me to be normal like the rest.

I would have never wished this grief upon her.

Transfixed by the ball of moss beneath my paws, there was no way to realize their warnings.

I was on the ground one second, and suddenly far above the next.

They attempted to save me, but their tries were simply in vain.

Snow white fur turned crimson, cries for help that wouldn't come.

Be it not for the pain, I would have liked the astounding view above the forest.

I felt tired, so tired.

The pain slowly ebbed away, my vision fading out before me.

Such a cruel punishment for a kitten so young.

At last, I had achieved my wish, despite the torture.

I had gotten to fly.


	2. Breaking Point

**Challenge Name: Freedom**

**Forum: The Clan of Clouds**

**Total Word Count: 2,679 words.**

_** A single twisted leg, a single friend, a single chance at life, yet a Clan of tormentors. **_

* * *

"Hey Cripple, keep up, would you? It's bad enough having to look at such a disappointment, let alone get in trouble for arriving late because of one."

My pale green gaze seemed to be almost drawn to my paws as the irritated voice emanated from ahead of me, my ears flattening back as the bitter words were snapped into the misted morning air. I tried my best to pick up the speed, but that proved to be a challenge in its own. I limped along the worn forest path, trying my best to hold my twisted hind paw as high off the ground as I could. I could hear a quiet snickering ahead of me, presumably caused by Oakpaw, who was chosen to escort me to the border patrol. Thrushstar couldn't have picked worse. Here I was, alone, with the very apprentice who found it very amusing to mock me for my disability, taking whatever chance he would get to put me down.

"Come on, we don't have all day," Oakpaw muttered impatiently, shoving me as I finally caught up to where he was standing. I stumbled, caught off balance, but quickly found my footing. The brown tabby merely gave a victorious smirk, pleased with himself for whatever reason I couldn't figure out. I shook out my light gray fur, managing to give the tom a small glare. He broke into a hideous laughter, stopping in his tracks for a second.

"Ooh, let me guess, Cripple's upset? How precious. What are you going to do about it?" he sneered, tone full of mockery. I opened my mouth, only to close it and look back at the forest floor in shame when I realized I had nothing to argue back with. "Good. Let's keep it that way."

He then turned around and continued walking forward, his head held high and light brown chest puffed out as if he were the leader of the forest. I reluctantly followed behind, muscles aching as I tried to keep up with his purposely fast pace. I lifted my gaze to see that the trees were beginning to thin out, relief washing over me as I realized our destination wasn't too far away. I could hardly make out the form of a few cats through the mist, but they were definitely there. Finally, GaleClan border...

"Let's hope this border patrol doesn't last too long," I mumbled under my breath, hoping that Oakpaw didn't hear. He already took anything I do as a personal insult to the whole Clan, the last thing I need is a slap across the muzzle with his stupid tail. Much to my luck, he didn't, instead jumping over a fallen tree resting across our path. I followed suit, though with much more difficulty due to my hind paw.

Now, at a closer distance, I had a better view of the cats, who appeared to be waiting on us. Three others, to be exact. I could pick out tortoiseshell, dark ginger, and white pelts, the last nearly blending in with the mist. Fawncloud, Emberstorm, and Snowwhisker. The brown tabby ran up ahead to meet with the waiting cats, leaving me behind to limp along.

"Sorry about the wait," Oakpaw apologized as he neared, dipping his head to the warriors respectfully. Yeah, if only he would respect me as much as them. He looked up, turning his focus back to me with a resentful glare. "Cripple can't move fast to save her life, I nearly had to start dragging her along the path."

I stopped more than a few tail-lengths away from the patrol, feeling a spark of anger at Oakpaw's comment. Emberstorm laughed quite loudly; Snowwhisker's chuckle hardly audible, but he obviously found it amusing. However, that wasn't the case with Fawncloud.

"You toms disgust me. Really, this is what you spend your free time doing? Picking on innocent she-cats? Sometimes, I feel embarrassed to be in the same Clan as you," she spat, taking a step away from them. She may have just become a warrior under a moon ago, but she had earned the Clan's respect moons ago.

Oakpaw rolled his eyes, glaring at the warrior. "Yeah, as if we care what you think. You're too soft for your own good." Emberstorm chuckled, but didn't say anything.

Fawncloud stepped towards Oakpaw, tail quivering with anger. "Excuse me?! I would watch your mouth if I were you,you little brat. I don't care how much the other warriors praise you, apparently all it serves is to boost your ego."

Even Snowwhisker, who was typically the calm and collected tom, looked slightly frightened at the normally outgoing and friendly tortoiseshell's outburst. Oakpaw merely muttered a few words under his breath, stomping over towards Emberstorm.

Fawncloud sighed, walking over beside me, sympathy lighting her golden eyes. "Sorry you have to deal with him, Mistpaw," she murmured, touching her nose to my ear. I couldn't help but smile, glancing up at her. Fawncloud had always been there to care for me; she _had_ been one of my only friends, after all.

...

"GaleClan patrol ahead, step carefully," Snowwhisker meowed, glancing back towards the rest of the patrol. Oakpaw flicked his ear to show that he had heard, already glaring off towards the other side of the border.

The rest of the patrol grew serious at this warning, and within no time, the actual patrolling of the border began. Thankfully enough, they were too busy keeping a lookout to go fast, so I was able to stay relatively close.

"Found them," Fawncloud murmured, motioning towards a group of cats surveying GaleClan's border. One caught sight of us and marched forward, the rest of her patrol following suit. With merely a flick of her tail, a few cats split off and began sniffing the earth on their side of the border.

"What do you know, we found some TimberClanners. They don't look nearly as fierce as the elders' tales say," the dark ginger she-cat said with a laugh, scanning the patrol with her piercing amber eyes. Her gaze came to rest on me, the sheer disgust in her eyes enough to cause me to flinch back. Well, it was more of a stumble as I slipped on a leaf slick with dew. I regained my balance, though it did nothing to help my embarrassment as I looked away.

"Only kits listen to elders, I'll show you just how strong we are!" Oakpaw hissed, though he was dragged back by Snowwhisker.

"We aren't looking for a fight, Oakpaw," he muttered, before looking up at the she-cat. "Mind telling me why your warriors are nearly stepping over the border, Flameclaw?"

"Oh, just making sure none of you decided to cross over. TimberClan can't be trusted with anything these days," Flameclaw replied calmly, glancing back over our group of cats again. "Is your Clan really that desperate that you are bringing in disabled cats for warriors? Next thing you know, you'll have medicine cats leading patrols!"

A few of her cats gave exasperated sighs, looking away. I narrowed my eyes in anger as she smirked in victory, but before I could say anything in my Clan's defense, Oakpaw spoke up.

"I'll have you know, we didn't want Cripple on our patrol either. She can't hunt, she can't fight, she is as good as useless. I don't even know why Thrushstar _insists_ on keeping her," the brown tabby growled, resentment shining bright in his green eyes.

"Hey! That isn't true and you know it!" I snapped at him, tail lashing in anger. Fawncloud hissed at the apprentice as well, but didn't say anything. Shock flashed through his eyes for a moment before he resumed his usual glare, baring his fangs at me.

Snowwhisker sighed, stepping between us. "I didn't mean to instead start a fight with our own Clan, Oakpaw. Same for you, Mistpaw."

Oakpaw flattened his ears in shame and looked away with some angry muttering, but I still stood tall, not paying attention to the scolding. It was nice to see Oakpaw put in his place for once, especially when I was a cause of it.

"Why don't you just give her to the foxes or badgers? At least she will have a use there," Flameclaw continued in a sneery tone, not seeming to have noticed the small dispute. Oakpaw perked up almost immediately, a grin crossing his face.

"Exactly! Somebody gets it!" he exclaimed, casting a glance at Emberstorm as if for approval. The dark ginger tom looked quite unsure at this point, seeming to not want to agree with the enemy Clan. One of Flameclaw's warriors**—**a gray she-cat, to be exact, leaned over and whispered something in her ear. The deputy merely snorted, rolling her eyes. I dug my claws into the ground, fury boiling inside me, though tears pricked at the corner of my eyes.

"Not now, not in front of GaleClan. They'd enjoy it too much," Fawncloud murmured softly, rasping her tongue over my ears in a comforting manner. I let out a shaky sigh. Later. I'll get him back later.

"Well, if all you are here to do is antagonize our apprentices, then I'm afraid to tell you that this confrontation is over," Snowwhisker meowed quite bluntly, turning around promptly and starting to walk away.

"Just like TimberClan, a bunch of cowards who can't even take a joke," the ginger she-cat spat, turning to her own cats. "We have more patrolling to do, so get to it."

I half-heartedly flicked an ear, turning around and trailing behind the rest of the patrol. Snowwhisker had apparently declared that the end of our patrol, as we were headed straight in the direction of camp. Fawncloud helped me along, lagging back with me so I could continue at a comfortable pace. I wanted to protest and say I didn't need the help, that I wasn't weak and could keep up, but it was pointless and an obvious lie. I was actually a bit grateful for it, despite the seething look Oakpaw shot me every few minutes. He had always hated it when others didn't pay as much attention to him.

...

A mouse dangled from my jaws as I made my way towards a shaded spot in camp. Snowwhisker was already reporting the patrol's results to Thrushstar, and the rest of the warriors had dispersed to get about their daily lives. A flash of brown fur caught my sight, and I looked over curiously. No surprise; it was Oakpaw, talking to a small group of kits. I could only imagine what it was about. A few of the kits looked quizzically at me, others with disgust evident in their eyes. I bared my fangs at Oakpaw the best I could with the mouse in my mouth as he smirked at me, hatred evident in his gaze.

"Yeah, you never want to play with Cripple, she'll always get in the way and mess up your games," he mewed rather loudly, just so he was sure I heard.

That was it. I let the mouse drop from my mouth as I let loose a snarl, stomping over towards him. The kits squeaked in fear, scrambling away from Oakpaw. The tom looked as though he was about to burst out into laughter at any second.

"So, you think this is some sort of game, do you? See how many cats you can get to dislike 'Cripple'? Well, let me tell you something. I'm done playing your stupid little game! So what if I can't hunt correctly, or I'm a little slow? I'm still more of a use to the Clan than you ever will be!" I hissed, tail lashing. Heads turned in our direction, curious about the sudden commotion. I caught sight of Fawncloud, who was sticking her head out of the warriors den, golden eyes full of confusion and fear.

"Keep dreaming, you useless excuse for an apprentice," he laughed. "I only say things that are true. I do as I wish, because there is nothing in your pathetic life you can do to stop me. Just look around. Everyone loves me, but none seem to care about you. You'd be quite blind to see that nobody wants you around," Oakpaw sneered, taking a step towards me. Fawncloud looked about ready to claw the tom's ears off, but was stopped with a whisk of Snowwhisker's tail. I could see the other apprentices, mouths curled in delightful grins. Everyone just _loved_ their drama.

"Oh yeah? I'm surprised you can see anything with that big ego of yours! I know all you want is attention, and all of these stupid warriors just keep feeding your needs! They don't care about who you are, but what you do. At least my friends care for who I am as a cat, and they aren't mouse-brained enough to only see my flaws!" I snarled back at him, shoving my muzzle in his face. A few snickers rose from the growing crowd, who didn't do much to try and stop us.

"That is enough!"

The loud snarl caused me to jump, whirling around to face Thrushstar. The tawny brown she-cat looked angry enough to attack a whole den of badgers, fur fluffed up and quivering. Oakpaw shrank back, awaiting the scolding that was sure to come.

"Can we not last a day in this Clan without someone trying to pick a fight?! You two are Clanmates, you need to start acting like it. Mistpaw, I expected better behavior out of you. Oakpaw, you need to stop your petty little games. Fawncloud's told me enough lately," she hissed, blazing amber gaze settling on the two of us.

"S-sorry, Thrushstar..." Oakpaw muttered, ears flattened back as he looked away shamefully. I returned the smirk that had by now faded from his face, turning back to the leader, fear a long forgotten emotion.

"I'm very sorry, Thrushstar. I'll try my very best to make sure that it doesn't happen again," I mewed, pulling my twisted leg back up off of the ground, as it had begun to drop once more.

"It better not. I expect to see you both cleaning the elder's den tomorrow," she snapped, waving her tail in dismissal as she turned back towards the prey pile.

As soon as the leader left, Fawncloud darted up my side, tail still quivering with worry. "I'm so glad you're okay, Mistpaw! I thought for a second you two were going to actually fight it out. I would have helped, but that mouse-brained tom got in my way," she laughed, a hint of nervousness still lingering in her tone. I smiled gently at the she-cat, glancing towards Oakpaw. He scowled at me before turning away, walking up to one of the senior warriors. They merely laughed at him, walking away from the apprentice. I turned back to Fawncloud.

"Well, I'm glad to have such a great friend like you, honestly," I purred, tail swishing happily. "We'll see what Oakpaw has to say about it when I'm a warrior next moon and he's still stuck as an apprentice."

Fawncloud laughed in agreement, tail ever so slightly brushing against my fur. I acted as though I took no notice, letting out a sigh of content.

"I know this isn't the end of it, but I think it's a start. I'll show Oakpaw. I'll be one of the best warriors out there, and while he's still begging for attention, I'll be the one getting all of the praise. I look forward to the future, Fawncloud."


End file.
